If you’re someone who can’t stand silence, then there’s something you should know before your first trip to Aldi: The stores don’t play music. That doesn’t mean the store is quiet per se, as there are still plenty of people walking and shopping about. You just can’t expect to hear any tunes on the radio. The lack of music in stores puts Aldi at odds with other major retailers, who use music as a part of their brand personality and ambiance. However, Aldi might not see this as a drawback, and it could even benefit the brand.
Aldi is currently America’s most affordable grocery chain, and by saving money on not having to pay to license music to play in stores, the grocery store is able to keep prices lower. The lack of music is just another strategy Aldi uses to cut costs, such as maintaining a bare-bones level of decoration and a small, private-label selection of inventory. Cashiers move quickly, and the store layout is built for efficiency. By excluding music, customers can shop at their own pace and relax without a soundtrack in the produce section.
Aldi marches to a different beat than its competitors
Aside from cutting costs, having a music-free shopping experience is a calculated brand decision. Aldi is an outlier among its competitors because many stores use music to influence customers’ purchasing experiences and decisions. You’ll often hear some combination of trendy pop music or ’80s throwbacks because these genres appeal to a wider audience while encouraging people to shop at a quicker pace. On the flip side, playing jazz or classical music can encourage customers to take their time and consider purchasing more items. However, the type of music grocery stores play is a risk as well. Customers have different genre preferences, and those genres need to roughly match the store’s brand identity.
Aldi’s music neutrality makes it inclusive to everyone and tailored to nobody at the same time. Customer reception is mixed, but proponents of the policy seem to enjoy the silence because it makes the shopping experience less overstimulating, and there’s no risk of being annoyed by any unfavorable songs. However, this silence can feel eerie to others, as it seems to amplify all the other background noises. The true benefit of a no-music store like Aldi is that it at least gives people the option to choose whether or not music should be part of the experience — you can simply pop in an earbud and take grocery shopping at your own tempo.
